Heated Pressing Apparatus for Composite Vehicle Bonding
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing process of joining composite material components to a vehicle body using a bonding agent at room temperature faces challenges in ensuring joining quality, requires extensive curing time, and leads to decreased productivity and production efficiency.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus that combines vehicle components by pressing a composite material component against a vehicle body and simultaneously heating the bonding layer to cure it, thereby improving the joining process and efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If bonding agent is used to join composite material component to vehicle body at room temperature, then joining process is simple, but joining quality cannot be ensured and curing time is excessive (one hour)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by transitioning from room temperature bonding to heated bonding. The bonding process is performed at elevated temperatures (typically 80-150°C depending on the bonding agent type), which fundamentally changes the bonding characteristics, reduces curing time to several minutes, and ensures proper curing of the bonding agent for high-quality joints between composite material components and vehicle body
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-heating the bonding agent or the bonding surfaces before joining. This preliminary heating action activates the bonding agent's curing process in advance, ensuring that when the components are joined, the bonding agent is already in an optimal state for bonding, thereby improving joining quality and reducing total curing time
2Ease of manufacture
If bonding agent is used at room temperature, then process is simple, but productivity and production efficiency deteriorate due to long curing time
Solution Approach 1:
By changing the temperature parameter from room temperature to elevated temperature (80-150°C), the curing time of the bonding agent is reduced from one hour to several minutes. This parameter change enables rapid curing while maintaining process simplicity, thereby significantly improving productivity and production efficiency in the joining of composite material components to vehicle body
3Productivity
If subsequent processes are performed before bonding agent is sufficiently cured, then production flow is continuous, but bonded portions are deformed and bonding quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-heating the bonding agent to initiate and accelerate the curing process before the actual joining operation. This ensures that by the time subsequent processes are performed, the bonding agent has already achieved sufficient curing strength to prevent deformation and maintain bonding quality, while still allowing continuous production flow
4Strength
If steel roof panel is used to ensure safety and rigidity, then structural strength is sufficient, but vehicle weight increases and fuel economy efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite materials, specifically carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), to replace traditional steel roof panels. CFRP provides equivalent or superior strength and rigidity properties while reducing the weight by approximately 50%, thereby improving fuel economy efficiency and overall vehicle performance without compromising structural safety
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enhances the joining quality between composite material components and the vehicle body, reduces curing time, and improves productivity and production efficiency, while minimizing defects and improving durability and reliability.
Implementation Method 1
a heating part provided on the base frame and configured to heat the bonding layer such as to cure the bonding layer
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for combining vehicle components includes: a base frame; a pressing part provided on the base frame and configured to press a bonding target component against a vehicle body so that a bonding layer applied onto the bonding target component comes into close contact with the vehicle body; and a heating part provided on the base frame and configured to heat the bonding layer to cure the bonding layer. As a result, the apparatus obtains advantageous effects of improving quality, productivity, and production efficiency.